


Baby! (Or, Lena Gets A Therapy Dog)

by IShipItAllAndThenSome



Series: Slow-Burning Laser Eyes [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Bisexual Kara Danvers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Engaged Sanvers, F/F, F/M, Game Night, Kara Danvers Is A Nerd, Lena Figures It Out, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Is A Hufflepuff, Lena Luthor Is A Nerd, Lena Luthor is a Gay Mess, Lesbian Lena Luthor, Multi, Nightmares, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Sad Lena Luthor, So Is Kara Danvers, bed sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 19:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12152961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IShipItAllAndThenSome/pseuds/IShipItAllAndThenSome
Summary: After being kidnapped, like, twelve times, you’d think Lena Luthor would be used to it. Unfortunately, being spirited away to a spaceship and almost forced to marry your best friend’s boyfriend by his mother, who you thought of as someone you could trust - someone who cared about you - is a horse of a different color, and Lena can’t quite shake it. Boy, does she want to, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get over this hump.Or, Lena gets a therapy dog, her two(?) best friends just love the baby to bits, and we find out the real reason she avoids sleeping alone.





	Baby! (Or, Lena Gets A Therapy Dog)

**Author's Note:**

> Also inspired by a cute thing on Tumblr. 
> 
> Disclaimer: A therapy dog is not a licensed service animal. They don't need any particular training; basically, they're just there to be soft and alive and comforting and affectionate. The dog in here blurs that line a little bit, because a Kryptonian puppy would be able to hear Lena's psychosomatic distress symptoms, and even normal Earth dogs try and help their owners through nightmares and health scares, but there is a distinct difference between the two. Therapy dogs don't have a legal precedent to be in private businesses or restricted areas. While therapy dogs are a useful tool, there comes a point where having a licensed service animal is the better choice, and if you're considering an animal as a way of assisting with mental or physical health issues, thoroughly research the issue before you make a decision.

The nightmares start with waking up. 

Lena felt like that was a stupid format for a nightmare to take, but nightmares don’t take constructive criticism. If they did, they’d stop being nightmares.

The nightmares start with waking up in that bed. On that ship. Someone’s changed her clothes, meaning someone’s touched her naked, unconscious body. 

Someone _is_ touching her, when she wakes. 

Sometimes it’s Rhea, stroking her hair, which hurts because it’s all a lie, and she’s just a tool once again.

Sometimes it’s Rhea, holding her down, infinitely strong under the yellow sun and, unlike Supergirl, unafraid to exert that strength to its fullest extent. Lena’s bones turn to dust. She hurts when she wakes up.

Sometimes it’s Mon-El. Lying beside her. She’s been on that ship for months; Earth is a husk; everyone is dead or enslaved, and she can’t help her fellow Earthlings, or stop the dictatorship she was forcibly married into. She’s just useless.

Kara noticed, because of course Kara noticed, because even in the wake of her own tragedy, Kara is kind and conscientious and so, so loving.

“You need to sleep, Lena,” she said, every time, pulling Lena’s exhausted body into an exquisite hug. “In a bed.”

“I know,” Lena murmured, burying her face in Kara’s shoulder. “I just get…” _Scared_. “Distracted.”

Kara doesn’t catch her in the lie, but she’s astute enough to catch how much lighter the shadows under Lena’s eyes were when she woke up, dreamless, after a night in Kara’s apartment.

So she suggested, “Let’s have a sleepover.”

Lena blinked. “What.”

“You and me. Let’s make a night of it. We can hang out, eat cookie dough, watch movies in a pillow fort…” Kara took her hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be fun! Alex used to do it with her best friend, Vicki, all the time.”

Kara bit her lip, grip faltering, so Lena squeezed back. “That sounds really nice, actually.”

It takes a while to fit it into their schedules; Kara has to cover the local elections this June, being the newbie, and Lena’s still running damage control after the whole invasion scare. Eventually, they decided to tack it onto a preexisting event.

“Just stay over after Game Night.”

Lena was too tired, too fond, to resist. She nodded, sipping her slutty chai - Kara had frowned at the name, and that crinkle in her forehead had only deepened when she found out that the 16oz cup contained four shots of espresso - and said, “That sounds perfect.”

She made it through her afternoon fine, but around 4.00p.m., a board meeting got canceled, giving her a two hour window with nothing to do. She had another meeting, a video call to Cardiff, at six, which didn’t give her enough time to go down to the lab or do something fun, so she just sat at her desk, head in her hands, waiting.

Bad idea, in retrospect, because she woke up in a bed that wasn’t hers or Kara’s, on silky white sheets, with a hand on her forehead.

_Hello, Lena._

“Where the hell am I?”

Rhea was rendered in gnawing detail; it seemed even a month and doing everything she could to forget wasn’t enough to remove the Daxamite matriarch from her memory. 

_I’ve been taking care of you ever since Supergirl nearly killed you when she attacked our portal._

“Supergirl tried to stop you. I should have stopped you. You lied to me, and used me.”

Rhea’s hand went stiff, and she pushed Lena back onto the pillow without any effort at all. 

_I did what I had to do to protect my people. But I did it for you, too. I meant what I said on the ground._

She stroked Lena’s cheek, letting up on the pressure to do so.

_You are a marvel._

“No. No! I don’t want to be here. Put me back. Please, Rhea, please put me back.”

Rhea’s hand was a vise on her throat. 

 _Don’t be rude._ The voice changed; another hand started squeezing the life out of her. 

_I raised you better than that._

Lena woke with a gasp that was really just a scream in reverse. She clapped her hands over her mouth, stifling any more hoarse cries, and tried to breathe.

Tried. Tried and tried and tried and tried. 

“Ms. Luthor!”

Jess raced in, eyes wide, and Lena gulped a breath and put her shaking hands in her lap to hide them.

“Jess.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m - I’m fine. Dozed off for a second there.”

Jess’s mouth tightened. “I’ll reschedule Mr. Dafydd for tomorrow. Go home.”

“I’m. Fine. Jess.”

Jess let out a short sigh through her nose. “Ms. Luthor - ”

“Jess, I’m not going anywhere. Please go back to your desk - actually, no. You might try and push the call back. Go - I don’t know. Go home early.”

Arms crossed, stance firm, Jess didn’t have to say a word to make it clear she was going nowhere.

“I’m serious. You’re keeping up with my hours, and that’s absurd.”

 _“You’re_ keeping up with your hours! As your assistant, it’s my job to stick with you during the work day, no matter how long you stretch it.”

For a moment, there was a staredown worthy of legend. Lena didn’t lose, exactly, she just closed her gritty eyes and shook her head. “Fine. Fine, stay, just… I’m not leaving my desk until that call is over.”

Jess nodded crisply and walked out. Ten minutes later, she returned with a steaming hot green tea, setting it down on Lena’s desk with a _thump_ and saying, “Mr. Dafydd’s call has been bumped up to 5.30, Ms. Luthor, you have twenty minutes.”

“Alright. Thank you, Jess.”

“And Georgie’s on standby so you can leave as soon as the call is over.”

Before Lena could protest, Jess steamrollered on.

“You didn’t have anything else on your schedule, anyway, and you have a social engagement.”

_Game Night. Right. Fuck._

The call with Mr. Dafydd went well. It was over in half an hour, call done right when it should have started and more productive than Lena’d hoped, and Jess was already at the door, handing her her coat and practically frog marching her into the elevator. 

Lena didn’t protest, didn’t resist. She got into the car, throwing herself into bleary conversation with Georgie, her driver, so she didn’t nod off again, and stopped off to pick up cupcakes from _Melisandre_ on 72nd and March because she was early, and coming empty-handed when breaking schedule didn’t sit right with her.

Kara didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Lena!” 

Her eyes shone, and she wrapped Lena in a careful hug, minding the cardboard box but still almost picking her up off the floor with the force of the embrace. 

“Sorry I’m early, I - ”

_Bark!_

“Gert, down, girl.”

Two people stood up from the couch; Lena recognized them as Alex and the cop who’d arrested her after Lillian’s escape, Maggie. The latter had her hand buried in the thick ruff of fur around a gorgeous Shepherd mix’s collar while the former was trying to restrain the beast via leash.

“Sorry,” Alex said, “she likes people.”

“And buttercream.”

Lena set the box on the kitchen table, toed off her shoes, and padded over to the dog, offering her hand to sniff. “Sorry, Gert - Gert?”

“Gertrude.”

“Sorry, Gertrude, there are only two or three vegan cupcakes in there, which means your Mom might not get one.”

Gertrude licked Lena’s hand, then nudged into her palm - _pet me! pet me!_

Lena obliged, scratching under her chin and behind her ears, and was rewarded with a lapful of energetic, affectionate puppy. 

“Wow, you’re a good girl, huh, Gertrude?”

Gertrude barked softly and licked Lena’s forehead, whuffling into her hairline, and Lena laughed. 

“You have a dog?” Maggie asked, crouching beside Gertrude and scratching her haunches. 

“No. Lillian never allowed them. Thought they were dirty, but you’re not dirty, are you, Gertrude? No, you’re _wonderful._ ” Lena lost herself in petting and nonsense noises for a moment, then said, “My birth mother had one, though. Greyhound, old racing dog. It never felt right, getting one after…” Lena swallowed. _“After.”_

“That sucks. Nothing like the bond between a girl and her dog. When my parents kicked me out, I missed my mutt Danny almost more than I missed them.”

Lena nodded slowly. “I’m sorry.”

“Long time ago. So, which cupcakes are vegan?”

“Kara mentioned you liked tiramisu, so… if you see a ladyfinger, she’s yours.”

“Thanks, little Luthor.” Maggie pushed upright and walked over to the table, plucking one from the box and taking a bite. “Shit. That’s a good cupcake.”

“I’ll give you the bakery’s address.”

Game Night went pretty well. James, Winn, and Lyra all showed up together about an hour later, looking sweaty and vaguely euphoric, apparently having just come from the gym, and they all ended up playing in teams, since none of the games could comfortably and efficiently accommodate seven individual players. Lena ended up playing on Winn’s team, no matter how Kara pouted; Kara then claimed Alex, who was already setting up with Maggie, which meant James and Lyra vowed to demolish Winn for abandoning them. 

They got through _Firefly: The Game_ without dying, though it came close with Reavers, and then Maggie insisted on Clue, because, “No way in hell is an actual detective losing to you yahoos.”

Even though there were enough pieces that only two people would have to buddy up, teams stuck; this time, Kara practically pounced on Lena, pulling her into her lap with strength that would have been surprising if Lena hadn’t seen just how muscular she was.

_Supergirl shorts._

_Down, Lena._

“Cozy?” Maggie asked, dark eyes twinkling.

Alex elbowed her in the ribs, shooting her a Look, but Maggie’s grin didn’t abate. She just leaned into Alex’s shoulder and kissed her on the cheek, and she went all gooey.

Kara’s arm curled a little tighter around Lena’s waist, and she said, “Which character are we?”

“Miss Scarlet.” Lena let herself slump, just a little, back onto Kara. Just a little. “You look good in red.”

“Excuse you,” Kara said, mock-offense somehow not terrifying, “we _both_ look good in red.”

Lena bit her lip, cheeks warm, and suppressed a flash of the last time she’d seen herself in red, tiara and all, because _not relevant._

“And you’re the only single people at Game Night this week,” James teased.

“Wait, when did you start dating someone?” 

“Um. Did I say people?” James laughed, casual enough - save for the way his eyes flickered from face to face. “I meant ladies. Only single _ladies_ at Game Night.”

Alex started to hum, absently marking choreography in her seat. Maggie’s laugh caught her attention and she tossed her hair. “What? I actually had a life back in college.”

“Was that life partially devoted to adoring Sasha Fierce in stiletto boots?” Maggie asked, grinning. “Because, babe: I _get_ it.”

Alex snorted and gave her a gentle shove, leaning into her side. “If our characters are going off relationship status, then I get Mrs. Peacock.”

“What, because you’re a… ‘classy social butterfly?’”

“Because my dating life used to be a longstanding disaster and I’m in charge of Miss Scarlet over there not dying.”

“Are you my Mummy?” Winn asked, in probably the worst British accent ever attempted, and Lyra and James groaned on either side of him, head in hands.

“Sweet boy,” Lyra said, raking her fingers through his hair, “ _never_ do that again.”

Winn drawled, “Yes, ma’am,” a little too earnestly to be all sardonic retort, and James laughed, arm splaying across the back of the couch.

“Don’t distract him, Lyra, we need his brain.”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Fine. Who are we playing, then? Can I play the killer?”

“We don’t know who the killer is until the very end.”

“Ugh. Boo.” Lyra crossed her arms, head lolling over the back of the couch. “Colonel Mustard, then.”

“Why ol’ Musty?”

“Because I’m _hungry_.”

Kara grinned, passing her the cupcake box. They each grabbed a chocolate cupcake, buttercream shelled in hard toffee, and clacked the crust together before taking a bite.

Well. _Lyra_ took a bite; it just so happened to encompass the whole cake.

Including the wrapper.

Kara peeled hers first, eyes wide as she tried not to laugh around a mouthful of frosting at the disappearing act Lyra’s dessert pulled.

“So, Mustard, Peacock, and Scarlet?”

Gertrude woofed softly, tail thumping against the furniture, and Lena reached over to scratch her neck. “Thank you for your vote, Gertrude. Democracy only works if every voice is heard.”

Gertrude snuffled at her wrist, and she grinned.

Clue went well, too, or so she heard. Somewhere around the sixth roll, Maggie realized no one had actually explained the rules to Lyra, and the explanation ran long enough that Lena just sort of dozed off in Kara’s lap.

She woke up in a bed with silky white sheets, a hand on her forehead. It was cold, bony. 

_Hello, Lena._

“Where the hell am I?”

_Boof!_

Lena woke with a start, nearly dislodging Gertrude from her lap. Gertrude whined, then licked her forehead, and Lena nodded. “Nine point nine out of ten, Gertrude. You stuck the landing, but it was a little…”

Another lick.

“Sloppy.”

Gertrude stayed in Lena’s lap, largely because she kept petting her, for the rest of the night. It kept her awake, focused, calm. The warm, fluffy weight wasn’t bad, either.

Clue stretched on for a while, and by the time the game was over, James had conked out, too.

“Not worth waking him,” Lyra said, grabbing the last cupcake with one hand and throwing him over her shoulder with the other. “He’s been running himself ragged lately. We’ll get him home, right, handsome?”

Winn had a stupid smile on his face as he said, “Yeah, we’ll get him home.”

He grabbed the recycling on the way out as they said their goodbyes. Kara lifted Lena off her lap, Gertrude in tow, and gave him and Lyra both a parting hug. 

Alex, stacking board game boxes, eyed Lena over the lid of _Settlers of Catan_ and said, “Sleep okay?”

“Yep. Like an angel.”

Alex’s face remained strictly neutral and she went about her business, but Lena got the distinct sense that she’d been made. Maggie, however, put her feet up on the now-empty coffee table and said, “You should get a dog.”

“I’m never home.”

“So be home for the dog.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “Sage advice with Maggie Sawyer. You should have a talk show.”

“Or get a cute little lap dog you can take to the office. Something fluffy that’ll shed all over your office and make obnoxious old white guys sneeze.”

Rather than respond, Lena dug her blunt nails into Gertrude’s coat a little harder, and she panted happily, tail whacking the couch.

“Think about it.”

“Think about what?” Kara said, plopping back down next to Lena, arm over the back of the sofa so she had a better angle to scratch Gert’s back. 

“Lena’s getting a dog,” Maggie said, grabbing a stray potato chip and popping it into her mouth. She bit down and raised her eyebrows, triumphantly crunching.

“Oh, Lena, that’s great!”

“I - nothing’s set in stone.”

“Well, if you need a puppy picking partner, I’d be happy to go to a shelter with you.” Kara adjusted her glasses and smiled. “We could make a day of it!”

“It’s a date.”

“What’s a date?” Alex asked, sitting down and draping a leg over Maggie’s lap, handing her the almost-empty beer she’d abandoned two hours earlier.

“We’re going to look at puppies.” Kara lowered her face so she was nose to nose with Gertrude and murmured, “Yes, we are! You’re gonna have a new friend!”

Gertrude barked softly and licked Kara’s nose.

 _I’m getting a dog,_ Lena thought. _Okay._

“We should head out,” Maggie said after a moment. “Lena, do you want a ride?”

“No, um.” Lena’s cheeks burned. “I’m staying over.”

“Then we should get out of your hair. Come on, Alex, let’s leave them to their _sleepover.”_

Alex stood, very abruptly, and said, “Okay, gotta go, bye, have fun!” in one breath, dragging Maggie away with her. 

“C’mon, Gertrude!” Maggie called, and Gertrude leapt after her. “Stay safe, you crazy kids!”

_“Maggie!”_

_“What?”_

The door closed behind them, leaving Lena in Kara’s lap.

“So.”

“So.”

A moment of silence stretched between them like spandex.

“Pillow fort?”

“I may have drawn up some specs.”

Lena’s blueprints turned out fantastic, considering she hadn’t been in a pillow fort in over twenty years, and it was cozy on some higher level.

“This,” Kara said, walking in on her knees, hands behind her back, “is fantastic.”

“Thank you.”

“I thought, since you don’t really have any of your own, you should have… Ta-da!” Kara whipped out a folded stack of black and yellow fabric. “I got you some comfy PJs - sleepover mandatory.”

“You got me Hufflepuff pajamas.”

“And fuzzy socks. I don’t know if you like to sleep in socks, or if you even like wearing socks, but they’re - ”

Lena wrapped her arms around Kara so tight her shoulders twinged.

“Oh. I guess you like ‘em?”

“ _Love_ ‘em.” Lena pulled back, grabbing the flannel as she went, and hugged them to her chest. “Thank you.”

“Well, I mean, we’ll match,” Kara said, gesturing to her own pajamas - the same set, top unbuttoned over a red undershirt with a pop art Princess Leia saying _I Love You_ and holding a blaster - with a shaky sort of grin. “Because best friends, right?”

“Yeah.” Lena smiled back. “Best friends. I’m gonna go, um, go change.”

“Oh. Okay. You go. Do. That.”

The entrance was really only big enough for one, so there was a moment of scooting and rearranging within which was nestled another moment where Lena and Kara’s noses brushed. 

 _Toothpaste,_ Lena’s mind helpfully notified her. _Spearmint._

She changed in the bathroom, inspecting her yellow-and-black outfit in the mirror. It was so stupidly comfy, and it was from Kara, and it smelled like her fabric softener. Lena buried her face in the cuffs and just smiled.

Back in the fort, they watched _Galavant_ with half their focus and picked at cookie dough - the eggless, bean-based, vegan recipe that, somehow, Maggie had recommended to Alex and Lena had recommended to Kara without collusion - until they fell asleep.

Lena didn’t dream, and when she woke up, it was on Kara’s living room floor, being thoroughly spooned by her best friend.

And just best friend.

_Sure, she’s cute and kind and cares about you but that’s just._

Kara hummed in her sleep, nuzzling into Lena’s collar. 

_Friend things._

The plan was to go looking for dogs that weekend, but midway through the National City Canine Rescue Shelter’s front room, Kara got a call from Alex and _really had to go_ , so Lena went to the office instead. It didn’t feel right to go looking at dogs without her self-appointed puppy picking partner.

Three hours later, Kara blew into her office with a stark white rough collie puppy in her arms, up above her head, humming, “Da-da-da-da! Superdog!”

Lena stifled a giggle. “Who’s this?”

“Sorry to barge in here,” she said, brow furrowed, lowering the dog and giving her a hug. “There was a thing with Alex, and long story short, there was a dog.”

“A cute dog.”

Kara grinned. “Yeah! She’s a sweetie, really, and I know we were going to look together, but I had to cut out, and then there was a dog in my lap and it just sort of seemed like… fate?”

The puppy yipped, tiny pink tongue poking out, and Lena melted.

“Fate,” she said, nodding. “Yeah. I could see that.”

Kara held the puppy out, and Lena scooped her up, immediately finding herself under attack from a very cold, very wet, very curious nose. 

“Hi, tiny,” Lena murmured. “I probably smell pretty weird, huh? Circular air filters’ll do that.”

“Like _Midnight_?”

“Like _Midnight_.”

Kara laughed, stroking the back of the puppy’s neck. “Nice. What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t have one already?”

“Nope.”

“She’s not Superdog?”

Kara shook her head, cheeks pink. 

“I think it’s cute.” After a moment’s thought, Lena decided on: “Jeanne.”

“Je- _what?”_

“The French form of Joan.” 

“As in Joan of Arc?”

“Jeanne d’Arc, originally, but this sweet nugget shall be Jeanne _b’Ark_.”

Jeanne barked in agreement, a tiny wheezy noise, and licked Lena’s ear. Kara practically cackled at the name, but when she finally caught her breath, she nodded. 

“Yeah,” she said, wiping her eye. “That’s a good name. She’ll be a good dog, too, won’t you, baby?”

Jeanne whuffled, squirming around to look at Kara, and licked her thumb.

“Yeah? Who’s a good girl, baby, huh?”

_Boof?_

“Who’s the best baby?”

_Boof!_

“You! That’s right! Only the best for my girl.”

Lena’s heart fluttered. “I thought she was my girl,” she said faintly.

Kara bit her lip and touched her glasses. “Um. Right. I mean.”

_Freudian slip. She didn’t mean I was her girl, definitely not. No way in hell._

Jeanne whined, batting at Lena’s collarbone with surprising force, and licked her jaw.

“Hey, now, baby, don’t be mean to Lena,” Kara cooed. “I know you’re a big, tough tank, but we play nice, okay?”

_Boof!_

“That’s my baby.” Kara kissed the top of Jeanne’s head, and for a split second, she looked up at Lena over the rims of her glasses. Her cheeks looked quite rosy, and her eyes exquisitely blue, against that stark white fur. “Um, I should. You have work to do, so I should.”

“Oh, no, I’m. I was just here to kill time. I didn’t want to pick a puppy without you there.”

Kara beamed, and her hand sort of lingered over Lena’s wrist. “Wanna get lunch?”

“Lunch sounds nice.”

They got lunch. Brunch, really, because they ended up with absurd stacks of waffles even though it was two in the afternoon, but it was good. Jeanne was remarkably well-behaved, considering how young she was, and she seemed to be able to match Kara bite for bite.

Kara did have to chase the divider cordoning off the outside dining area into the street, though, after Jeanne’s tail batted it clear across to the opposite sidewalk.

“Is she, um.” Lena looked skywards, rather than say it aloud, because who knows how some random eavesdropper might react to the concept of a dog from outer space?

“Oh. Oh!” Kara smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. But she’s a good dog.”

“You wouldn’t give me anything less. Isn’t that right, Ms. b’Ark?”

Jeanne barked, and Kara’s smile became a little more confident. “Cross my heart.”

“I trust you,” Lena said, scratching behind Jeanne’s ear. 

“I - thank you.” Kara ducked her head, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’m glad you do.”

“You earned it.” 

She had, and she continued to with spectacular skill. She and Jeanne dragged Lena out of her office on a regular rotation, and the walks and company helped keep her head clearer. When she did work, absently playing with Jeanne meant her brain had background noise to work off of. When she slept, Jeanne stayed in her bed, nudging her out of nightmares or tiring her out so she was too pooped to dream. 

Kara, it seemed, was sort of like a second owner for Jeanne, and she was strong enough to play tug with the poor beast without accruing any injuries. She was one of two people Jeanne was allowed to jump up on, and the only one who wouldn’t easily topple. She could even catch the puppy mid-leap and hold her up over her head, spinning and crying, “Superdog! Da-da-da-dah!” before bringing her down and subjecting herself to a frenzied tongue bath.

Things were good.

So, of course, someone tried to kill Lena. 

Some big, scaly, purple lizard man had snuck past Jess with a digital mask, but once he was inside Lena’s office, the hologram pixellated out, revealing his actual reptilian features. 

“This,” he snarled, “is for Rhea!” and charged on her.

Jeanne barked, loud and sharp and probably a little scary, before blasting him with lasers.

Literal lasers.

From her eyes.

Like a _boss_.

The Maaldorian hissed, falling back before refocusing his attentions on the dog. “I’ll kill you, you rat!”

Jeanne didn’t seem to much like that idea. She jumped up and then just _zoomed_ at him, headbutting him towards the balcony and then straight off.

“Ms. b’Ark,” Lena murmured, eyes wide, “I think you just killed a man.”

Jeanne whined, flying back and nosing at Lena’s cheek. Lena scratched her fluffy neck and wondered if she was in shock, or if she was just genuinely okay with her rough collie roughhousing would-be assassins to death.

“Huh.”

A red and blue blur shot up past Lena’s balcony, and the Maaldorian’s screams were audible for a brief moment before the blur and the reptile were gone. Five minutes later, though, the blur was back.

Supergirl landed on her balcony, where Jeanne was waiting, and was immediately jumped on. She caught the puppy and flew in a little circle, cooing, “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a good girl? Is it my best baby? Yes! Yes! It’s Superdog!”

_Oh._

_Shit._

_My best friend is Supergirl_. 

Jeanne barked, biting down on the cuff of Kara’s uniform and just dangling there, tail wagging so fast it kicked up a stiff breeze. Lena didn’t bother trying to fight her grin, and padded out onto the balcony, leaning on the doorway and crossing her legs. She assumed the coolest, most nonchalant pose she could before calling attention to herself, taking a moment just to watch Kara, in her full super suit, coo _baby-baby-baby-baby_ at Jeanne in an endless, adorable loop.

“Should I get her a cape?” she asked.

“Lena! Ms. Luthor! I mean!” Kara brought her arms in in front of herself, sort of hugging Jeanne to her chest. “Hi. Hello. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Yeah, well, my very best friend saved my life by giving me a puppy who, apparently, is just as heroic as she is, so I think I’m good.” Lena walked over, scratching Jeanne’s chin. In her bare feet, she had to tilt her head to look up at Supergirl, who, with the sun at her back, looked very picturesque, save for the deer-in-headlights expression on her face.

“I. Well.”

Jeanne wriggled out of Kara’s grip and floated into Lena’s, licking her chin. Lena smiled, the sort of soft smile that comes with the world painted in lens flares and warmth, and wrapped her arms around Supergirl in the tightest hug she could manage. “Thank you,” she murmured, chin hooking over Kara’s shoulder, “for always protecting me.”

Kara, after a moment, hugged her back, and the careful way in which she hugged and touched made _sense,_ suddenly. All those calculations she had to make just to walk in this world - no wonder she was so desperate not to be that person all the time. No wonder she lived two lives.

“For always being my friend. For always being my hero.” Lena pulled back, just enough to look Kara in the eye, and cupped her cheek. “Because no matter what you wear, under your Danvers uniform or your Supergirl suit, you are _always_ Kara, and _Kara_ is the most important person in my life.”

Kara swallowed hard.

“Okay?” Lena asked, voice a whisper.

Hoarsely, Kara replied, “Yeah,” and closed her eyes, nodding. “Thank you, Lena.”

Lena just tucked an errant curl behind Kara’s ear and softly said, “That’s what friends are for.”

Kara pulled her back into the hug, face tucked down into Lena’s shoulder. She laughed when Jeanne licked her jaw, but it was a wet laugh, a barely holding on laugh.

“And I am _happy_ to be your friend. Okay? You’re not going to lose me, either. Not for anything.”

“I’m sorry I lied.”

“You’re forgiven.”

“Not mad?”

“I promise.”

Jeanne barked softly, and Lena smiled into Kara’s hair. 

“How could I be mad, when you let me look after your best baby?”

**Author's Note:**

> The James/Winn/Lyra stuff is kind of just an Easter egg in there, but I ship the shit out of Guardian and Co., so... yeah.
> 
> The post that inspired this fic lives [here](http://freewillandphysics.tumblr.com/post/159235450893/lena-has-a-dog-that-is-absolutely-in-love-with).


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